Recorded live at VISIONS Summit: NYC 2024, join Alicia Esposito for her sitdown with Seb Reetz, Bloomreach’s Solutions Consulting Lead of the Americas. They dive into the fascinating intersection of AI and art, exploring how AI is transforming both the creation and consumption of art discussing the ethical considerations, creative opportunities, and practical applications of AI in the artistic process. Seb shares insights from his current projects, including a thought-provoking video game that leverages AI for ideation and voice generation.

Key takeaways:

• AI tools aid in ideation and proof of concept, helping artists and writers like Seb generate and refine ideas.
• AI has the potential to revolutionize customer experience through personalized, cross-channel interactions.
• [00:30] Seb: "I sell AI on a day-to-day basis. I also am a writer for video games. So I definitely think about AI and the sort of ethics around it."
• [10:00] Seb: "AI is a really powerful tool to help with that. So again, I go back to the you're the air traffic controller as the marketer."

• Bloomreach
• 11 Labs
• Prague Arts Festival
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
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Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Recorded live at VISIONS Summit: NYC 2024, join Paul Canetti as he sits down with Reggie James and Ruby Thelot. We explore the concept of being "too online" and whether the dichotomy between digital and physical worlds is still relevant. Ruby and Reggie share their thoughts on the cultural shifts driven by our online presence, the importance of physical spaces, and the impact of digital status-seeking on our everyday lives. Listen now!

Key takeaways:

• The line between digital and physical worlds is increasingly blurred. While there's a fascination with the physical realm, the digital world offers unparalleled opportunities for status and connection.
• The pursuit of online status can drive people to act differently in the physical world, often using public spaces as stages for digital content creation.
• As technology evolves, so do our cultural norms. The value of images and digital content is changing, prompting a re-evaluation of what we consider real or trustworthy.
• Looking ahead, there's potential for more personalized, artisanal digital experiences. This shift might move us away from mass-produced technology toward bespoke digital solutions.
• The future of software and digital experiences may lie in highly personalized, artisanal creations rather than scaled, mass-market solutions.
• [00:02:30] Reggie James: "We tend to hit these just accelerated, you know, Internet superhighway vibes mentally, and then you step outside and you realize, actually, the pace of this environment is significantly slower."
• [00:03:30] Ruby Thelot: "There is certainly this fascination that we now have for the physical realm. As soon as we're allowed to go online, suddenly we're like, oh, no, wait. It's gotta be analog or it's gotta be we wanna go back to the physical."
• [00:05:30] Reggie James: "Utilizing public space as a playground for digital status creates this weird, just using up of this previously shared social resource."
• [00:09:00] Ruby Thelot: "Once we are able to generate images that have the semblance of reality, the value socially of images erodes. We can think of it even in a judiciary context where we start to question the veracity of the images that are presented."
• [00:27:00] Paul Canetti: "It might be that when it's all said and done, there was this 50-ish year period of humanity where we spent a lot of effort creating these kinds of interfaces and these new ways to accomplish things. And then in the end, we'll come back to something that looks a lot like it did pre-computer.”

Links & Resources:

• Ruby Thelot's new book on design and beauty theory
• Nathan Jurgenson's essay "The IRL Fetish"
• Eugene Wei's insights on online status optimization
• Martin Guerre (movie) featuring Gérard Depardieu
• Maggie Appleton's discussions on home-cooked software
• William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube‍
• Check out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and print‍
• Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
• Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Welcome to a special episode of Future Commerce, recorded live from the Outdoor Retailer conference held at the beautiful Tracy Aviary. In this episode, Brian sits down with industry leaders to discuss the future of omnichannel retail in the outdoor industry. Discover insights into enhancing the customer journey, reducing checkout friction, and optimizing operations to create seamless, memorable experiences for both B2B and B2C markets.

• [00:02:30] - Elcee Vargas: "The prevailing research right now is that 70% of carts are abandoned, which is an overwhelmingly large number."
• [00:07:00] - Jordan: "We do a ton of A/B testing to create the quickest checkout experience. Taking a 120-second checkout process down to 6 seconds makes a huge difference."
• [00:21:30] - Travis: "With payments being the lifeblood of your company, you can't disrupt the revenue coming in and where it's going."
• [00:36:00] - Ken: "The closer you are to the top of search results, the more opportunities you have to make sales. Shipping plays a huge part in this."
• [00:39:00] - Carl: "Making sure you've got something that feeds these different channels is crucial for scalability and success."
• Maintaining customer relationships during off-seasons helps keep the brand top-of-mind, ensuring readiness to purchase when the season returns.
• Ensuring that your technology stack is cohesive and scalable is essential for seamless operations across B2B and B2C channels.
• Automating processes and having real-time visibility into inventory and sales trends can help manage tax implications and optimize inventory management.
• Continual A/B testing and optimization of the customer experience, especially at checkout, can lead to significant improvements in efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Links & Resources:

• Learn more about Klaviyo, Stripe, Avalara, ShipStation, NetSuite, BigCommerce
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and print
• Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
• Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Feat. Nilla Ali, CEO of GAAN Creative

Join us as we explore the impact of algorithms on content creation, the challenges of scaling media businesses, and the rise of creators as the new media moguls. Our special guest, Nilla Ali, formerly of BuzzFeed and CEO of GAAN Creative, shares her journey from leading BuzzFeed's commerce business to building a content network for premium creators. We discuss the future of media, the role of AI, and the importance of quality content in an ever-changing digital landscape. Listen now!

Key takeaways:

• [07:35] "Commerce through content really evolved. Initially, it was just links in content." - Nilla Ali
• [17:00] "Creators are winning because the quality of their content is much higher than publishers." - Nilla Ali
• [27:30] "The benefit and pitfall of the Internet is everyone can see what's working, and they can replicate it easily." - Nilla Ali
• [36:30] "AI generated content will have a cliff where it stops being relevant." - Nilla Ali
• AI has the potential to generate large volumes of content, but there's a risk of declining quality over time as AI-generated content relies on existing human-created content.
• For creators to sustain their businesses, they need diversified revenue models that include subscriptions, brand partnerships, and affiliate marketing, rather than relying solely on social media platforms.
• As AI becomes more prevalent in content creation, there is a need for regulation to ensure quality and prevent the spread of low-quality content. This could help maintain the integrity of media and content industries.

• Learn more about GAAN Creative and Nilla Ali
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
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• Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
• Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

LIVE from Outdoor Retailer 2024

In this episode, we explore the transformative trends shaping the outdoor retail industry LIVE from the Big Commerce Summer Camp during Outdoor Retailer. From the rise of resale markets, to the importance of real-time inventory data, we uncover how technology and cultural shifts are driving the future of outdoor retail.

Key takeaways:

• Walmart's strategy emphasizes creating a personalized, branded experience to engage Gen Z and Millennial shoppers, showcasing the importance of knowing your customer.
• Deck Commerce's focus on sustainable practices aligns with Gen Z's values, proving that eco-friendly initiatives can foster long-term customer loyalty.
• Feedonomics discusses the critical role of real-time inventory data in omnichannel retail, enabling instant commerce and enhancing the shopping experience.
• Walmart's restored program exemplifies how resale markets are gaining traction, driven by consumers' desire for sustainability and cost savings.
• The panel stresses the importance of modern, flexible technology stacks to meet the demands of the upcoming Gen Alpha shoppers, who expect seamless, immersive experiences.
• Bridging the gap between online and in-store shopping, brands must create emotionally engaging digital experiences that replicate the tactile feel of physical products.
• Me & the Bees Lemonade shows that having a strong, purposeful mission can create deep emotional connections and lasting customer loyalty.

Links & Resources:

• Learn more about Walmart Marketplace, Deck Commerce, Feedonomics, Me & the Bees Lemonade, and BigCommerce
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and print
• Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
• Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

London PayPal Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/london-paypal-meetup-group/events/301151281/

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Futurism in review: flying cars and frictionless commerce

Phillip and Brian chat about the futurism movement in art and how it relates to commerce, specifically, the idea of passatisme, which is an obsession with the past that signals everything backward would be supplanted by futurism. Generally, it sounds a lot like effective acceleration or the beginning of a movement where people are railing against a prevailing nostalgic posture that culture has of looking backwards, and they are aggressively trying to pull the culture into looking forward. It feels very much like a Future Commerce thing to talk about, so we did. Listen now!

Key takeaways:

• {00:11:46} - “One of the dangers of futurism is that it's let's throw everything good out, and replace it with whatever isn't that. Let's not look to the past to inform the future. Let's not enjoy things that we've had, and there's a dichotomy and also a distrust of things that people found to be good previously, and a belief that things can and will be better in the future no matter what, so we should just not even look to the past. I think that there's a lot of danger in this way of thinking about the future.” - Brian
• {00:19:47} - “What's really interesting here is that our modernist futurism is dystopic, But retrofuturism was optimistic. So we can be nostalgic for the past's vision of the future, which I think is its own interesting dichotomy.” - Phillip
• {00:31:31} - “The end game of eliminating friction is a specific kind of future that a specific set of people out there are looking for where certain activities are eliminated from intervention in any way or requirement for a human to be involved.” - Brian
• {00:43:58} - “If the future is gleaming cities with flying cars, I'm not entirely sure that that's the future that I'm looking for, which is a specific quality of life. It is a specific set of things that I hope for, and I think that there are ways to get there here and now that we could be investing in and taking big swings around that would make a meaningful difference for commerce and for the general populace.” - Brian

• Brian’s 2020 Future Commerce Insiders article It’s Time to Build Things That Last
• Insiders #167: Heavenly Bodies: Worldbuilding through Brand Collaborations, by Angelica Frey
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and print
• Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
• Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Walmart is Experimenting in the Present to Create the Future

In this episode Phillip and Brian discuss Walmart Realm and the plays that Walmart has been making towards a younger female media-savvy audience. There's so much there that is shopping content, it is ecommerce-centric, but it's entertainment, and it just gets the ecommerce crowd so riled up. Listen now and join the conversation!

Key takeaways:

• {00:29:03} - “It's for an in-store audience, and that's also really important. This is an opportunity to pre-sell. We talked to BK Beauty about the point of transaction and where it actually exists and it actually exists in people's minds first. So they may make a decision to buy something. They may or may not buy it online, but if they see it in this experience and they see the creative they like promoting this, they might make a decision that the next time they're in Walmart with their parents they will beg them to get it.” - Brian
• {00:41:01} - “This idea of putting everyday low price products right next to the other products that you might buy and spend a lot of money on is a thing that Walmart's been beating a drum on for a long time, and it didn't just start in these virtual shopping worlds.” - Phillip
• {00:52:57} - “There are signals of what is the future of commerce to Walmart. It's in any one of these things are the present of consumer that I think is directional for the ways that we'll buy in the future. And if anything, they're just fostering great relationships with content creators right now in various channels.” - Phillip

• Learn more about Walmart Realm
• The Senses article, Y’allternative: The Walmart Realm Breakdown
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and print
• Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
• Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!